Oh, My Easter Bonnet!
by Snapegirlkmf
Summary: <html><head></head>Sev is stuck judging the annual Best Easter Bonnet contest at Hogwarts. Harry & Ron decide to have some fun at his expense, while baby Eileen gets lost during the Easter egg hunt! Will Sev finally lose his cool? Some swearing & spanking. NA series, AU</html>
1. Eileen's Easter Bonnet

**Oh, My Easter Bonnet!**

This small fic was written for wandamarie

**1**

**Eileen's Easter Bonnet**

_Takes place a year before the events in The Fourth of July Deer and six months before Severus' Christmas Wish. This story is part of the Never Again series, see my profile for the complete list of stories in the series. Harry and Lexy are 11, Ron just turned 12, and Eileen is almost 3._

_Harry's POV:_

It was the Saturday before Easter and Ron and Ginny were sleeping over, because they were supposed to join us for the Easter egg hunt at Hogwarts tomorrow. Molly, their mum, was going to Floo them over tomorrow morning, until I begged Dad and Mum to let me have a sleepover. Since it was our holiday break, Dad agreed. Especially since he had to be a judge for the Best Easter Bonnet contest, and Mum was participating in the Easter Bake Sale, so we all had to go to school early tomorrow morning.

The Easter egg hunt and the bonnet contest had started three years ago, Uncle Al, who's Headmaster, had decided it was a good way to introduce little wizard kids and their families to Hogwarts before they got their letters, so they'd be more familiar with the school and not as homesick. I'd been going back and forth to Hogwarts since I was little, so I knew the school very well, since my dad, Healer Snape, often made house calls there, and Uncle Al and Aunt Min used to babysit me when I was around three, my sister Eileen's age. We would be meeting my other friends, Blaise and Hermione, and Hermione's little sister Robyn, there.

I'd just come out of my room, after fixing up the spare bed for Ron, Ginny would sleep in Lexy's room, when I heard my dad and grandpa talking in the kitchen. I slipped quietly down the hall, practicing moving like a panther, without a sound, I wanted to see if I could surprise Dad and Grandpa.

"So, are you all set for Easter, Sev?" asked Tobias, that's my grandpa's real name.

"I would say so," Dad replied. "After the children open their Easter baskets, we're going to Floo over to the school. Would you like to come with us?"

"Sev, I'm a Muggle, and I'm too old for school," Grandpa joked.

Dad rolled his eyes at him. They were sitting across from each other at the table, each drinking a cup of tea. "You mean you don't want to live your childhood over again?" he teased.

"God forbid! What's old Al got planned for this year?"

"The usual. The Easter egg hunt and the bonnet contest. He was going to do a parade, but Min and I put paid to that scheme."

I crept up behind Dad, he had his back to me, and poked him. "Gotcha!"

He jumped, then cranked his head around and scowled at me. "Harry, for the love of Merlin! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"No. You didn't hear me, did you?"

Dad shook his head. "No. Did you set up your room like I told you?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Ron's not going to sleep on the floor." Then I turned to my grandpa, who was still very good-looking despite him being the very old age of fifty-one, and announced, "Hey, Grandpa, did Dad tell you that he's gonna be the judge for the Easter bonnet contest this year?"

Grandpa nearly choked on his tea. "Sev, why didn't you tell me?"

My father shot me a dirty look. "It must have slipped my mind."

Grandpa started smirking. "So, Sev, how'd old Dumbles con you into that job?"

Dad frowned. "Don't ask."

"Dad lost a bet with Uncle Al," I chimed in, unable to resist. "He bet that Uncle Al couldn't beat him in Muggle poker and Uncle Al won, and said Dad had to judge the Easter Bonnet Contest as a forfeit, since he wanted to run the egg hunt this year."

Grandpa burst out laughing. "I don't believe it! You got your arse whipped by a first time player, Severus? Have you learned nothing from me?"

"It was beginner's luck. I never would have played if I'd know what sort of marker the old coot was going to call in."

"You mean you didn't ask for the stakes beforehand?"

"I did. He said I could owe him a favor. I figured it would probably be something like free potions or a checkup, _not_ being a bloody judge for a hat contest!" Dad said grumpily. "I mean, I'm a Healer, not a fashion designer!"

"You were had royally, Sev," Grandpa told him, then started laughing again.

Dad just glared at him.

Finally Tobias wiped his eyes and said, "Maybe I will come after all."

"Real nice, Dad. You'll come just so you can see me make a fool out of myself."

"Now, Severus, I'm sure you'll do fine. How hard can it be, after all? Is Alaina entering it?"

"Unfortunately, no. She said hats aren't her thing. If she was, I could have pleaded bias and gotten out of it."

"But she baked her spice cake with cream cheese frosting for the bake sale," I added.

"Oh, now I'm definitely coming! I wouldn't dare pass up Alaina's spice cake," Grandpa said, his blue eyes lighting up. "What time should I get here?"

"Eight-thirty in the morning," Dad told him. "By then the kids will have eaten breakfast and opened their baskets."

"What about Ron and Ginny, Dad? Where's their baskets?" I asked, not thinking it fair that all of us would be opening presents except the Weasleys.

"I'm sure Molly will drop them off." Dad replied, knowing that I had stopped believing in the Easter bunny when I was nine.

"Oh, okay. Where's Mum and Lexy?"

"Out getting the ingredients for the spice cake."

"Can I have a snack? I'm starving."

"A small one. You don't want to spoil your dinner."

I turned to get a glass of milk and some chocolate biscuits from the tin when I heard the pitter patter of two little feet coming down the hallway.

Next thing I heard was Eileen's voice, calling, "C'mon, Inky! Let's show Daddy!"

In marched Eileen, dragging poor Inky along by the strings of a very large Easter bonnet covered with paper flowers and fake jewels and a big stuffed blue bird. Obviously my baby sister had made it herself, out of one of her old doll blankets and some paste and string and I don't know what all else. The bird was slowly listing to one side, and the front of the bonnet covered one of Inky's emerald eyes. Eileen had tied a big sloppy bow under the poor panther's chin and was tugging him into the kitchen by the rest of the strings. It was the most colorful, crazy, and ugly Easter bonnet I'd ever seen.

"Merlin, Eileen!" I groaned upon seeing them. "Get that off him! He's a _boy_ panther, not a girl!"

"Daddy, lookit how pretty Inky looks in the Easter bunnit I made!" announced my sister proudly. She was grinning like she'd just won the contest. Eileen has Alaina's curly hair, but it's dark like Dad's and so are her eyes. She's adorable, but also nothing but trouble.

She tugged again on Inky's strings, and the panther reluctantly followed her and then sat down in the middle of the kitchen floor and refused to budge. Plainly, he'd had enough of playing dress up.

Not that I blamed him. He probably felt humiliated, like I did when Mum told me to play house with Eileen if Lexy wasn't home.

Dad turned around and saw Inky sitting there, his eye covered with the pink fabric and the blue bird hanging off the side and covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to laugh. "Uh . . . that's very . . . interesting, Eileen."

"It's bootiful, right? I made it my own self!" declared my baby sister proudly.

"I think it's the ugliest bonnet I've ever seen," I remarked before I could think better of it.

"Is not! Take it back, Hawwy!" Eileen cried, giving me a look reminiscent of Dad's.

"Harry!" Dad said.

"What? It's the truth. Don't you think it's ugly?"

"Meanie!" Eileen cried. Then she dropped the strings of her hideous creation and kicked me in the shin.

"Oww!" I yelled. "You little brat!"

"You is bad, Hawwy!"

Before I could do something I would regret later, Dad picked her up and sat her on his knee. "Eileen Lily, you don't kick your brother. Understand?"

Eileen looked up at him with her huge eyes and her bottom lip quivered. "But . . . Daddy . . .Hawwy was _mean_! My Easter bunnit is not ugly!" She started to snivel and two huge tears fell down her cheeks.

Now I felt sort of bad. I hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. But then I rubbed my shin and frowned at her.

"It's an Easter _bonnet_, snippet," Dad corrected. "Harry was wrong to say that, but you shouldn't have kicked him either, young lady. You don't kick or hit anyone, Eileen! Especially not your big brother. Now say you're sorry."

"No! I won't!" she cried defiantly.

Now both Lexy and I knew better than to say that to Dad's face. Eileen, being two, hadn't learned that lesson yet. But she was gonna learn it now.

"Eileen Lily Snape! Don't you tell me no. Do you want to spend some time in the corner?"

Eileen started bawling. "No –o-o! No time out!"

"Tell Harry you're sorry then."

But Eileen could give a mule lessons in stubborn. "Don' wanna!"

Dad's eyes narrowed in a look I knew well. It was his do-it-or-else look. "One."

Eileen started blubbering again. "No! No count!"

"Are you going to say you're sorry?"

Her lip stuck out and she shook her head. Merlin, but she thought she could outstubborn Dad! Fat chance!

"Two."

Their eyes locked.

"Well?" Dad demanded sternly, never once looking away.

"Okay . . ." she sniffled, glancing away from him.

Dad set her on her feet. "Go on then."

Eileen slowly dragged her head up and said softly, "Sowwy, Hawwy."

"Very good!" Dad said.

Until Eileen added, "I no like you no more, Hawwy! Youze not my brudder!" Then she ran over to Inky and threw her arms about the panther and cried into his fur.

I groaned. Great! Now she was pulling the pathetic little girl card. "Aww, come on, Eileen!" I said, knowing if I didn't apologize to her, I'd be in trouble. "Stop crying, okay? I'm sorry I called you bonnet ugly." _Even if it is true, _I added silently. I knelt down and put an arm around her. "Forgive me?"

Silence.

Inky began purring.

Slowly, my baby sister lifted her head from his plush ebony fur and looked at me. "I'm thinkin' 'bout it."

I rolled my eyes. "Brat!" I muttered. Sometimes she made me want to slap her one. I reached over and straightened the bonnet on Inky. He nuzzled my hand and I scratched behind his ears. "Poor fellow! Stuck being a hatrack," I crooned. My little sister had no mercy.

Eileen frowned at me. "He no hatrack, Hawwy! He a _model_!"

For some reason that made Grandpa crack up.

I looked up. Dad was even laughing a little. Go figure!

"Eileen, he's a panther." I tried to explain the facts of life to her. "And cats can't be models, only people can."

"Why?"

"That's just how it is." She cocked her head at me. Since she seemed to be listening to my brotherly advice, I said, "And Inky's not a doll, he's a living creature with feelings. Panthers—especially boy ones—_don't wear clothes._" I stressed. "It's humiliating. You want all the other panthers to make fun of him?"

She shook her head. "No-o-o . . . but Hawwy, Inky likes my Easter bunnit. Don't you, boy?" She gave Inky a squeeze. The panther huffed and looked at me pleadingly.

"Give up, Harry," Grandpa said, wiping tears from his eyes. "You won't win this round. She's as stubborn as her old man."

I gritted my teeth. Grandpa forgot, I was stubborn too—like _both_ my dads. And I was also cunning like a Slytherin, whose House I'd been Sorted into. "You know, Eileen, your Easter bonnet is so nice that I'll bet Mum would like to wear it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. But she won't like it with cat hair on it. So why don't you take it off Inky and find something else to model it on?"

"Like what?"

"Err . . ." I was at a loss.

"I know! I know!" Eileen shrilled. All of a sudden she yanked the bonnet off Inky. "_You_ can wear it, Hawwy!"

"What? No! No way!" I went to scramble to my feet. No way on earth was I wearing that _thing_!

Too late.

Eileen stuck the bloody thing on me before I could get away. Then she did the worst thing yet. She threw her arms about me and _kissed_ me. "Aww! You looks bootyful, Hawwy!"

I wanted to _Evanesco_ myself. "Aww, _Merlin_, Eileen!"

Before I could untangle myself from her embrace and pull the loathsome hat off, our Floo chimed and out of it came Ron and Ginny. They came right into the kitchen, of course, and my best friend stopped dead and cried, "Harry? Bloody _hell!"_

"Ronald, watch your mouth!" scolded my dad. "There's a baby listening!"

Ron blushed redder than his hair. "Sorry, Healer Sev. It's just . . ."

"Harry, why are you wearing . . .that hat on your head?" asked Ginny, giggling.

"It my Easter bunnit, Ginny!" Eileen announced. "Hawwy's modeling it!"

"Aww! That's so cute!" Ginny smiled.

Ron collapsed on the floor, howling.

I shoved the pink brim out of my eyes and shot my best mate a death glare. "Ron, I swear, if you tell anyone about this . . ."

"Of course I won't, Harry!" Ron gasped. "They'd have to see it to believe it!" He went off into gales of laughter again.

Little sisters! They were worse than getting the galloping trots. Little did I know, this was only the beginning of the Easter escapades that would occur.

**Next: Easter morning, where two boys stir up mischief after finding a few eggs . . .**

**Just to clear up things-this is a story featuring a two year old girl, one who is advanced for her age, but still TWO. So she sometimes mispronounces words, like Harry's name and other ones. Thus, the w in place of r's and that kind of thing. I have deliberately misspelled words to illustrate this, and no, this is not meant to be funny and I'm not on crack. If you've ever spent time with small children, that's how they sound sometimes. At times Eileen will speak clearly, other times not so much. This is meant to be a snippet of life of Harry and his family in the Never Again series, if you don't like family fics with small children in them, then you probably won't like this story. However, it does feature Severus' POV in later chapters. If you haven't read the previous stories in this series, please go and do so, before saying anyone is OOC, it will all make sense if you start from the beginning.**


	2. Prank of a Lifetime

**2**

**Prank of A Lifetime**

_Harry's POV_

_Late Saturday night:_

Ron and I stayed up way past our bedtimes whispering to each other about what we might find in our baskets tomorrow and what sorts of prizes might be in the eggs for the Easter egg hunt. Dumbledore always had two different egg hunts, one for the small kids, like Eileen and Robyn, ages 2,3, 4, and so on, and one for the bigger kids ages 8 through 12. After that you were a teenager and too old for stuff like Easter egg hunts. Fred and George said that was when you did scavenger hunts instead, whatever those were.

Before we'd gone to bed, Alaina, who's actually my stepmum, since my real one, Lily, died when I was four, baked her spice cake with her thick cream cheese frosting. It was her specialty, and she baked it every year for Easter. Ginny, who had never seen anyone bake without using magic, asked Alaina if she could help.

"Certainly. Can you get me the flour and eggs? Lexy, show Ginny where we keep the baking ingredients, won't you?"

Lexy is technically my stepsister, but in my house that's a distinction we don't recognize. Dad says we're all family, no matter what, and he'd adopted Lexy when she was eight, so she's a Snape now. Lexy showed Ginny around the pantry, which is a huge walk in closet. Ron and I watched, salivating, as the girls helped Mum mix the batter and pour it into a large sheet pan and two muffin pans. Mum let them lick the spoons and beaters.

"Mum, can we have a taste too?" I asked, seeing the bowl still sticky with batter.

Alaina looked over at us. "Here, Harry. You and Ron can scrape the bowl." She handed me the bowl and two rubber spatulas.

I gave one to my friend and we both shared the remaining batter. Mmm!

Once the cake had baked and cooled, Mum showed Ginny and Lexy how to make the frosting. Then she frosted the large cake and let Lexy and Ginny frost the small cupcakes.

"I like frosting the cauldron cakes," Ginny said, laughing when Lexy got a dab of frosting on her nose. "It's fun!"

"And the best part is we get to be the first to eat one," my sister said, licking the frosting off her nose.

"Alexis, use a napkin," Mum reprimanded.

"But it's more fun to lick it off," Lexy informed her.

Once all the cakes were frosted, Lexy used magic to make sugary handles for the small cauldron cakes, so they looked like real cauldrons, and then sprinkled colored green sugar over them.

"Those look and smell wonderful, girls!" said Grandpa, following his nose into the kitchen. "Mind if I try one?" he reached over to grab one.

"Not yet!" Lexy cried, grabbing his wrist. "We helped, so Mum says Ginny and I get to be the first to eat one, Grandpa!"

"Is that so?" Tobias looked disappointed. "Okay, I can wait."

Ginny looked at Mum. "Miss Alaina, can I have one now?"

"You may, Ginny. You too, Lexy."

The girls snatched them up and started eating.

"Ooh, it's heavenly!" Ginny moaned.

"It tastes better than last year, Mom," Lexy said, slowly nibbling hers to make it last longer.

Grandpa eyed the tray, looking like a pitiful starving beggar.

Mum chuckled, then said, "Go ahead, Toby."

Grandpa took one and ate it in two bites. "Fantastic, Alaina. You and Sev ought to open a restaurant. Or a bakery."

Ron and I each took one, and Ron told Mum this was the best cauldron cake he'd ever eaten. I seconded that, and then Dad came in with Eileen and they both had one as well. Eileen had hers with a glass of milk and Dad with coffee, and Dad said that Mum had better win the Bake Off tomorrow, because this was the best spice cake he'd ever eaten. "And if you don't win, it'll be because the judges have no taste."

Mum beamed and gave him a kiss.

I blushed, and wondered why my parents had to be so embarrassing! Didn't they care that we had guests over? Or that the last thing an eleven-year-old boy wants to see is two old timers snogging their lips off? Yuck!

"C'mon, Ron. Let's go play Wizard Chess."

Ron was only too happy to oblige.

Behind me, I heard Eileen giggle. "Mummy loves Daddy!" she sang, she thought it was hilarious when they kissed each other, don't ask me why.

Anyway, Ron and I stayed up whispering long after everyone else had gone to bed, or so we thought, until Dad came in and said sternly, "Enough talking, boys, now go to sleep. Or else no Easter baskets tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Ron said.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, Dad. Merlin! What d'you think we are, three?"

"What was that, young man?" Dad came and shone his wand right in my face.

"Nothing, sir." I hastened to correct myself.

"That's what I thought. It's two o'clock in the morning. Turn over and close your eyes."

I obeyed, though I was furious at the way he was treating me, like some sodding preschooler! And in front of my friend too! But I kept my mouth shut. Anything else I said would just get me in deeper trouble. But there was a hard knot of resentment inside me, and I wished for once that I could embarrass him the way he embarrassed me. Fathers! Can't live with them and can't hex them.

I squinched my eyes shut and tried to breathe evenly, so Dad would think I was sleeping.

"Quit pretending, Harry."

I wanted to scream and pound my pillow. But of course I didn't. I was eleven and too old for tantrums. ARGHHH! I screamed silently in my head. _Go away, Dad, and leave us alone!_ I forced myself to relax, though I could sense him hovering over me like some bloodsucking bat.

Finally, after an eternity, he left. I waited a good five minutes though, before I hissed, "Ron? You still awake?"

After a long moment, Ron hissed back, "Yeah. You'd better watch it, Harry. I think he was really ticked off when you said that about us being three."

"I know."

"I can't believe you said that to his face."

"I didn't know he could hear me." I admitted. Next time I would make sure he wasn't around when I muttered something under my breath. "What do you want to get in your basket the most tomorrow? Chocolate frogs?" They were his favorite candy.

"Those or some Zonkos stuff. They just came out with some new line of products that sound really wicked," Ron said hopefully, then he smothered a yawn. "M'getting sleepy, Harry. And I'd rather not test your dad and risk getting my bum whacked."

"Dad would never do that to you," I objected. "He'd only whack me."

"My mum would, soon as she heard what I'd been doing," Ron said. "Night, Harry."

"Night, Ron." Though I didn't want to admit it, I was also sleepy, and soon after I fell asleep.

MEBMEBMEB

_Easter Sunday:_

Ron shook me awake Easter morning and together we raced down the hall to the den, where our Easter baskets were. Happily, we were the first ones up, though the girls woke up soon after. But then we had to wait for Mum and Dad and Eileen. Luckily, Eileen's made it her mission in life to wake up our parents, so as soon as she realized that Ginny and Lexy weren't in bed, she popped up and raced in to wake up the parents.

She did this by standing in the doorway and screeching, "WAKE UP, MUMMY AND DADDY! THE EASTER BUNNY'S COME!"

Only a deaf person could sleep through Eileen's wake up call. Or a dead person. And even then Dad swears she could bring the dead back to life with her screaming.

But for once I didn't mind, because the sooner the parents got up, the sooner we could open our baskets.

When Mum and Dad stumbled into the den, Dad looking very put up and Mum smiling gently, with Eileen on her arm, I asked, "Morning, Mum and Dad! Happy Easter! Can we open the baskets now?"

"Happy Easter, Harry," said Mum and she hugged me. "Of course. Go ahead."

After we'd all wished each other a happy Easter, we tore into our baskets. There's always two things in there that are the same every year—sweets and books. Eileen got a plushy bunny that looked like the Velveteen Rabbit and the book as well. I got several kinds of Honeydukes chocolate bars and a book called _Adventures of Josef Wronski—Quidditch Star._ There was also a chocolate frog and some butterbeer powder to make my own butterbeer. I also got a new cloak and another book called _Most Potente Healing Potions for the Aspiring Young Medicus_. I had told Dad that someday I wanted to be a Healer too, and he said that you can never start too early.

Ron got a new Cannons jersey, some Droobles, Bertie Botts beans, and a chocolate frog, plus homemade sugar snap biscuits. He also got some wizard comics and _Great Moments in Quidditch History_.

Ginny and Lexy got sweets, new journals along with matching quills and ink, some jewelry, and Easter scarves, Lexy had one in turquoise and Ginny had a lime green one. Ginny also got a _Household Spells for the Savvy Witch_, and Lexy had a copy of _Witch's Sweet Tooth: A Guide to Making Scrumptious Sweets with Simple Spells._ Though Lexy could cook just fine without magic, she always liked learning new spells, and had always wanted to try magical cooking.

Dad got a new tie from Mum, with caduceus' on it, and Mum got a beautiful pearl ring from Dad. Even Inky got something—his Easter treat was a huge antelope steak, which he had to go out in the backyard to eat.

After a wonderful breakfast, we all got dressed in our good clothes, Grandpa arrived, and then we Flooed over to Hogwarts. Ron said he hoped that the egg hunt was as good as last year's. I said I hoped it was better, and that we got lots of joke stuff.

"Welcome, children!" Uncle Al greeted us almost as soon as we exited the fireplace. He was dressed in his favorite purple and silver robes, wearing a white scarf with colored eggs painted all over it. "Are you all ready for the egg hunt? I think it will be even better than last year's."

"Hi, Uncle Al," I said, giving the old wizard a hug. He had been my babysitter when I was small and Dad was working round the clock at St. Mungos, back before he'd met Alaina. Now, of course, he was my Headmaster, but out of school I still treated him like a favorite uncle. "I can't wait. Oh, and Happy Easter," I added, recalling my manners.

Uncle Al beamed, then he went to greet the rest of my family and Ron and Ginny.

We met Hermione, Robyn, and their mum, Jane, in the Great Hall, where Easter tea was going to be held after the Easter bonnet contest. "Hi, Harry! Happy Easter!" Hermione said, waving.

"Hi," I said. Hermione was wearing a pretty white dress and hat with sprigs of lavender, lilacs, and little pink roses in the brim, which had long lavender ribbons. She had done something to her flyaway curly hair, making it a little straighter and not so frizzy. "You look nice, 'Mione." I said, then blushed. But it was true.

"How' bout me, Hawwy?" asked her little sister. Robyn Maura Granger was almost two, and like Hermione, smart as a whip. She had inherited the Granger curls, but hers were long and blond, and Jane had pulled them back in a long tail and put a pretty pink bow with small roses in her hair. It matched her frilly pink dress and shiny white leather slippers.

"You look like a princess, Robyn," I told her, playfully tweaking her button nose.

"Yay!" she laughed. "Where Eileen?" she looked for her friend, the two of them were like Ron and I, best mates.

"Over there, by Uncle Al," I pointed to where my baby sister was showing Uncle Al her new Easter bonnet, with the tulips and lilies in pink, lavender, and white, stuck on the brim, and ribbons in every color of the rainbow were tied in the back.

"Ooh, pretty!" Robyn cried upon seeing Eileen's hat. "'Mione, I wanna hat like Eileen's."

Hermione smiled tolerantly at her small sister. "Maybe next year, Robyn. When you're bigger."

"Aww! But I wants one now!" Robyn whined.

"Well, maybe Eileen will share hers with you," Hermione said quickly.

Robyn nodded, then ran across the room calling, "Eileen! I's comin'!"

"Why, Hermione, you look pretty as a picture!" said Professor McGonagall.

She was dressed in a lavender and blue tartan dress with a lacy shawl pinned over it with a golden thistle pin. On her head was a large hat with a real thistle pinned to the brim. I knew the thistle was the national flower of Scotland.

"Thank you, professor," Hermione said, a bit shyly. "You look very nice also."

Aunt Min chuckled and looked a tad embarrassed. "Why, that's kind of you to say so, Hermione. How is your mother and sister?"

"Fine. They're over by Professor Dumbledore."

"Hello, Aunt Min," I said softly.

"Ah, Harry! My, you look very grown up in that suit." She smiled and gave me a squeeze.

"Thanks," I said, not bothering to tell her that I hated having to get dressed up.

Finally, we all went outside, where Dumbledore had set up the egg hunt, and in the courtyard were long tables with cloths over them for the Bake Off. Molly Weasley was there with her famous layer cake, and Mum went over to put her spice cake next to her, and Jane Granger also had a sugar-free plate of brownies.

There were several older kids already gathered on the lawn, waiting for Dumbledore to start the egg hunt. Wicker baskets were being handed out by Professor Flitwick. Ron, Lexy, Ginny, Hermione, and I joined them. I said hello to Neville and Blaise, who were there with their grandmum and mum. Neville's gran, Augusta, was entered in the Easter bonnet contest, while Maria Zabini had baked her famous Italian butter cookies for the bake sale.

Uncle Al stood in front of us, there were about thirty or so kids there, from nine to twelve. "Attention, please! The egg hunt is about to start. You all know the rules, no pushing or fighting over an egg. There are enough eggs hidden about the lawn for you all to get seven each. When you have seven, please come back to the starting line, do not search for more eggs, as it wouldn't be fair to your friends. Oh, and there is one large golden egg, anyone who finds that one will get a very special prize. You have an hour and a half. Have fun, children, and a Happy Easter!"

He brought his scarf down and we all broke from the edge of the lawn and scattered.

Ron and I made for the far end of the lawn, where there were lots of shrubs and small pine trees. Dumbledore liked to hide eggs behind things and up in the small branches. One of the neat things about this hunt was that the eggs were magically spelled not to break if you dropped one by accident. They were also painted with magical paint that twinkled when the sunlight hit it, and made them easy to spot if you were looking carefully.

"I see one, Harry!" Ron hissed, and made a beeline for a small clump of grass. Seconds later, he picked up a glittery blue egg and placed it in his basket.

Then I spotted a green one beneath a spruce and snatched it. Next I found a red one and a yellow and purple one.

Thirty minutes later, I had five eggs, and Ron six.

I headed over to west, near Hagrid's hut, sometimes eggs were hidden in the pumpkin patch and I really wanted that gold one. The golden egg had the biggest prize in it and I had never won it before.

On the way I passed Hermione, Lexy, and Ginny.

"How many do you have, Harry?" asked my sister.

"Five. How about you?"

"Four."

Ginny had five and Hermione did too.

"We're going to try over near the forest," Ginny said, pointing to the very edge of the lawn, beyond which lay the Forbidden Forest.

"Okay, whatever," Ron shrugged. He knew as well as I did that there were few eggs to be found there.

We raced into the pumpkin patch.

Ron spied a pink egg and snatched it up, forgetting that he could only have seven.

An instant later, he realized his mistake. "Aww, Merlin!"

I glanced back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, except now I have a full basket."

"Oh. Well, I'll see you later." I said, and Ron went back to the beginning with his eggs to wait.

Meanwhile, I continued to search through the pumpkin patch. I found a spotted pink, purple, and blue egg. Now I had six and I was determined to find the golden egg this year. It had to be here, there were thick green leaves and vines and plenty of pumpkins. The patch wasn't huge, but it was dense and I spent almost twenty minutes looking under and next to all the pumpkins before I was almost ready to give up and look somewhere else.

But then some odd little voice prompted me to look beside Hagrid's hut, near the bucket he kept beside the porch. I gently brushed away a stray dandelion, and there it was! The glittering golden egg!

I grinned and gently picked it up. It was the size of a goose egg.

I carefully placed it in my basket and then headed back to the starting line. I was practically floating on air. I had finally found the golden egg!

I ran up to Ron, tugging irritably at my tie, which was too tight. "Ron! Guess what?"

"What?" he looked up.

"I found it!"

"The golden egg?" he gasped.

"Yeah. Look!" I showed him the sparkling egg.

"Merlin, Harry! You've the luck, all right."

By now most of the kids were back and only a few were still searching.

Hermione, Ginny, and Lexy all arrived back, and they were all shocked that I had found the golden egg.

"Where did you find it?" Lexy asked.

"In the pumpkin patch, near Hagrid's hut," I told her.

"Oh. Why didn't I think of that?" she muttered crossly.

"'Cause I'm smarter than you," I said, not able to resist twitting her.

"Yeah, sure you are," she snorted. "You just got lucky."

Finally, Dumbledore blew a whistle, signaling that the hunt was over. "All right, children. Do you all have seven eggs? Good! Now, which one has the golden egg this year?"

"I do! I do!" I yelled, waving my hand frantically.

Dumbledore came over and examined my basket. "Well done, Harry!" He applauded. "Congratulations! Harry has found the golden egg! Would you like to open it and see what's inside?"

"Yes, sir!" I said eagerly.

Uncle Al tapped the side of the golden egg with his wand. It was the only egg, he explained, that needed him to open it. All the others would come undone when you said , "Open, please."

The golden egg cracked and then split open . . . to reveal a 30 Galleon note to any shop in Diagon Alley.

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed enviously.

I whooped. "I'm rich! And I get to spend this any way I want, right?" I looked up at the Headmaster, my eyes shining at the prospect of buying Quidditch supplies, or sweets, or ice cream, or potions stuff . . .anything.

"You do, my boy! Have fun!" Uncle Al grinned like a little kid. He clapped me on the back, and Aunt Min came and took my picture, since the Prophet always ran an article every year about the Hogwarts Easter games, and pictures were taken of the winner of both egg hunts, the Easter bonnet contest, and the Bake Off winner. I really hoped Mum won the baking contest, though she had some tough competition this year.

I was so proud of myself for finding the egg and winning the prize that I began bragging to all the other kids there, but especially Lexy, who always claimed she was so much smarter. Looking back on it, I acted like a real smug git, and gotten "too big for my britches", as Grandpa would say. But right then I thought I was the best thing since chocolate frogs, and couldn't resist boasting to anybody who would listen.

"Oh, dry up, Harry!" Lexy said crossly. "So you found the golden egg and won thirty Galleons. It's not like you discovered the cure for wizard flu. Now quit bragging, you sound like Dudley, you twit."

I glared back at her. "I do not! You take that back, Lex! You're just jealous, is all."

She lofted an eyebrow at me, reminding me of Dad. "Jealous of what? If I want something, Dad or Mom will buy me it when we visit Diagon Alley, plus I have money I saved from my birthday."

"Yeah, but you have to ask, and what if they say no? _I_ get to buy most anything I want, even if Dad doesn't think I need it." I told her. She was always throwing the fact that she saved her money in my face, while I almost always spent all mine as soon as I got it. Dad always said she was going to be a great businesswoman someday, because she knew the value of a Galleon. Humph! I had decided a long time ago that I was going to be so rich I wouldn't need to worry about how much I spent, because my vault would be bottomless. I had a huge vault, inherited from my other dad, James Potter, and my mum Lily, and the Potters had been filthy rich and Lily hadn't been poor either. When I became a successful Healer, I would command top fees for my services, and then I'd be richer. Now, whenever I read this, I start to laugh, because the best Healers don't count Knuts and Galleons, and they consider the best payment a life saved. But I was only eleven, what did I know?

"Brag much, Harry?" Lexy snorted. "Don't look now, but I think your head's the size of the Astronomy Tower."

"Shut up!" I snapped, then I went to open the rest of my eggs.

Both Ginny and Hermione shot me looks of disapproval. Girls! If Lexy had won the golden egg, they'd have been screaming over it and chattering nonstop about getting their nails done and going shopping at Gladrags.

Ron just shook his head, at them, I thought, but he told me later on it was at me. "Harry, look at this! I got a container of Itching Powder!"

We both got cool practical joke products from Zonkos and some sweets as well in each of our eggs.

"This is so cool!" Ron grinned. "I could prank my brothers and sister for weeks with these."

I nodded, wishing my father weren't so stuck on me not pranking Eileen and Lexy all the time, I'd have loved to make Lex's hair green with the Witch's Goo or Eileen's hat into a screaming banshee with the Boo Bonnet Serum. I wished I had a little brother who wouldn't mind if I played pranks all the time on him. I sighed. Maybe this time Mum would have a boy, since I sure didn't need any more sisters. Oh, in case I forgot to mention it, Mum's pregnant again.

While we were looking over our loot, Lexy came up and asked if we could help with the little kids during their Easter egg hunt, since there were lots of small kids and they always needed help holding their baskets or making sure they got seven eggs, since the real small ones didn't know how to count that high. Usually I didn't mind helping, but this time I was ticked at her for comparing me to Dudley, my fat cousin who I hated, and I just wanted to be left alone to dream about all the things I could do with my thirty Galleons. "I'm not doing it this year," I said dismissively.

"But Harry, last year I watched Eileen and helped her," Lexy objected. "Now it's _your_ turn!"

"Says who? You're always bragging about how you're more responsible, so why don't you prove it?"

"You're just a lazy selfish bum!" she snapped. "And if you don't stop acting so high-and-mighty, Harry James Severus, you're going to regret it!"

"Why? You gonna run and tell Dad on me?"

"I won't have to. If he ever saw the way you're acting . . . your ass would be grass, Mr. Potter!" she declared, then she stalked off to where Hermione, Ginny, and the two little babies waited, saying loudly over her shoulder, "He thinks he's too good to help chaperone, girls!"

Once again I was the object of several stares of disapproval. But I shrugged them off.

"Come on, Ron. Let's go in the castle. It's getting hot out here."

So we raced up into the castle, before Lexy could go complain to McGonagall and make us get stuck watching the little kids.

About fifty or sixty witches and wizards were filing into the Great Hall for the final round of the Easter bonnet contest. I couldn't understand how anyone could want to watch something so boring and almost felt sorry for my dad, having to judge something like that. I don't know why he didn't just tell Uncle Al to have Aunt Min do it. Then again, a forfeit's a forfeit, as Grandpa always said.

Ron and I ducked into the small room next to the hall to avoid being trampled on by all those witches in pointy shoes and flowery robes pushing and shoving to get the front row seats.

"I think we're safe!" I gasped, wiping some sweat from my brow. Then I glanced around.

Usually this room was empty, it was a kind of antechamber where the first years waited before they were Sorted. But today it had a long shelf set up on the wall and on it were the Easter bonnets of the witches who were going to participate in round two of the contest. I goggled at the array.

There were short bonnets and tall bonnets, some with fresh flowers and other with fake ones. They had ribbons in every shade of the rainbow and some in shades I never knew existed. Some had sparkles on them, others were plain. They were made from all kinds of material too. One had real butterflies circling it, another had a stuffed macaw (no, I'm not kidding!).

Ron and I stared at them for half a minute. Then we started laughing, because some of them were so hideous.

"Bloody hell, Harry! Look at that one, it looks like something my Auntie Muriel wore to a funeral once," Ron pointed to a large triangular shaped hat that was done in shades of black and deep purple and had nightshade and day lilies and a tiny bat fluttering about it.

"What about this one, with the smiley face flowers?" I giggled, pointing at one that had flowers that blinked and grinned all over it.

It was about that time that I had a very wicked and naughty idea. I was bored and itching to try out my new joke products and figured that the contest could use some livening up. I mean, what could be more boring than watching this parade of hideous hats marching around on their owners' heads? It'd be more fun watching grass grow. Then I recalled how Dad had embarrassed me last night by treating me like a baby and telling me to go to bed. And something terribly sneaky and wicked awoke in me.

"Ron, are you bored?"

"A little bit. Why?"

I smirked. "Just wondering."

Ron eyed me suspiciously. "Harry, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about how funny it'd be to see Nev's gran with blue hair. Or Mrs. Bones with a ghostly shrieking hat."

Ron gaped at me. "You want to prank them?"

"Well, not them, but their stupid Easter bonnets."

"But Harry, we'll get in awful trouble!" Ron gulped, imagining the wrath of his mum.

"Not if we don't get caught. There's tons of kids here today with all kinds of joke products. Who'll know?" I persuaded. "Besides, wouldn't it be hilarious to see old lady Hawthorne scratching at her head like she's got fleas?"

Ron busted out laughing. It was a known fact that old lady Hawthorne hated kids and threatened to hit us with her cane every Easter. And she always had the most ugly looking hat and dress. "Yeah, that would be pretty funny."

"What kinds of Zonkos stuff do you have?" I asked, looking at the contents of his basket.

Ron hesitated. "Harry, if your dad ever finds out . . . he'll kill us!"

"How would he? It'd be impossible," I said, waving away his concern. "Come on, we have to do this fast, before the old witches come back here to get their bonnets."

We started applying the various powders and potions and lotions to the insides of the bonnets, most were timed to go off after five or ten minutes and the effects lasted maybe that long and weren't permanent. It would be the best prank ever, and probably go down in the history of Hogwarts.

**Next: Severus' POV of a contest gone wrong.**

**Will the boys get caught? And how much trouble will they be in?**

**Please review!**


	3. A Contest Gone Wrong

**3**

**A Contest Gone Wrong**

_Sev's POV:_

I knew from the moment that Albus suggested we play a friendly hand of poker that I should have refused and gone home. My father had introduced him to poker, that bloody reprobate, and ever since last month, Albus had been begging me to play with him. I don't know what I was thinking, agreeing to play one game for an unspecified forfeit. Probably about getting home to Alaina after spending a day at the school giving booster vaccinations to those students requiring one. I was tired and grumpy and as a result, I agreed to Albus' request.

Now I was stuck judging a bloody bonnet contest, Merlin help me!

I should have known better than to allow Albus to set the stakes. But now was too late to whine over a spilled potion. Now I had to, as Dad would say, bite the bullet. I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why Minerva or Pomona couldn't judge the Easter bonnet contest. _They_ were women, they wore things like that. Or had worn them. I was totally out of my depth, knowing less than nothing about clothing, except what was most comfortable to wear beneath my Healer's robes. How was I supposed to know what was in style and what wasn't?

In the end, I decided to go with my instincts and pick the most attractive, the most original, the best themed one, the most well-made, and the most memorable. I had started with fifty contestants, mostly witches between the ages of 40 and 75. I had managed to narrow it down to twenty-five by the time the first Easter egg hunt was over. There were five entrants in each category, and now I had to pick between them for the top bonnet in each one and then from those the best overall. I had no idea how Albus had run the contest last year, but this was the best way for me to choose the all around winner.

Everyone, even if they didn't win, would get a consolation prize of a large solid chocolate Honeydukes rabbit. The top winners in each category also received a lovely Easter bouquet, grown by Professor Sprout. The winner received an entire Easter basket, complete with an Easter supper and ten Galleons. The basket included things like a plant, a pretty apron, seeds for flowers and vegetables, a cookbook, and other things. The winner was also featured in _Witch Weekly_, and had a photo wearing the winning bonnet.

I saw Dad near the front row, he smirked at me goodnaturedly, and gave me a thumbs-up sign. He had told me he would be watching, giving me moral support. Ha! The sly old fox just wanted to taunt me for getting trapped judging this contest. The only way it would have been worse is if I'd had to judge lingerie.

"Sev!" he called, waving me over.

"What is it, Dad?" I came over to him. "The contest is about to start."

"Just figured you might want to know that Harry won the big prize at the Easter egg hunt. He found the golden egg with the 30 Galleon note in it."

"That's great. I'm happy for him. Tell him not to lose it. Or maybe you'd better hold onto it for safekeeping, Dad. You know how lackadaisical he is sometimes." I suggested.

"Will do, son." He winked at me. "Better get back up there, Severus. I think the natives are restless." He indicated the row of contestants.

I rolled my eyes at him and then stepped back to the podium.

I figured this round would go quicker than the last one, and soon I would be able to stop by the bake sale and treat myself to a piece of my wife's spice cake. Little did I know what a disaster awaited me.

I was standing at the podium where the Headmaster usually made announcements, behind me was a large platform where the staff table usually was, this was the stage where the contestants paraded their bonnets up and down and posed for pictures from family and friends in the audience. I watched and made my selections while they paused upon the stage. Over half of them were current patients of mine, or of my partner Matthew. I just hoped that when this was all over, they would still come to my practice.

I announced the final round of the contest, and called out the contestants in the Most Attractive category. They all sashayed upon the stage, shooting the audience smiles and each other death glares. They paused for two minutes so I could judge the best one, and all of them fluttered their lashes madly at me and gave me these saccharine smiles that made me very uneasy, given the fact that I was married and I was young enough to be their son . . . or grandson in some cases.

I chose Serena Merriweather to win her class, she was a stylish matron in her early fifties with wonderful skin and teeth and wore a classy bonnet with colorful feathers and beads in the shape of a lily. She beamed and curtsied to me, then I waved her off to the side and called out the next group. The remaining contestants went to stand to the right of the stage to receive their chocolate after the contest was over. Some were grumbling and a few shot me annoyed looks, but no one threw anything at me or tried to curse me, so that was one good thing.

I had just chosen Augusta Longbottom for the winner of the last category—Most Memorable—she had a bonnet that sported an entire stuffed peacock, tail spread, something that only Frank's formidable mother could wear without people jeering at her when she walked down the street, when things began to go horribly wrong.

Eugenia Hawthorne, who had won Most Original for her hat that sported bats, nightshade and day lilies and other strange things, suddenly began scratching at her head. At first I thought she was itching because her hat was on too tight and she was probably sweating beneath the weight of it. First her fingers began scratching just a little, then a little more, and then she started yelling and she ripped off her hat and began scratching frantically. "Oh, Merlin! I think I've got fleas!"

All the witches standing next to her screamed and tried to get away from her, creating a stampede. It was then that I saw Augusta Longbottom's hair turn electric blue and nearly match the exact shade of the peacock on her hat.

"Augusta!" shrieked portly Mabel Bones. "Great jumping toads! Yer hair's turned the color of a sapphire!"

Augusta immediately pulled a strand of hair from her head and cried, "Merlin's hairy arse, Mabel! Somebody pranked me!"

Just then Mabel's hat suddenly transformed into a teakettle and began to whistle at an earsplitting volume. "Ahhh! What's going on?" she howled, her hands over her ears. "Oh, my lovely Easter bonnet!"

All over the stage witches were shrieking and stamping. Caroline Murphy's bonnet suddenly sported large hairy spiders, sending her and several other witches beside her into hysterics.

Old Muriel Prewett's hair suddenly shot up into five inch spikes and caused her bonnet to fall on the floor, where it was promptly trampled by several witches trying to flee the spider-bedecked hat.

Angelina Carruthers' bonnet morphed into a spinning top that lifted her a foot off the ground and spun her around till she almost threw up.

Tansy Brewster's bonnet transformed into a pig's behind and began farting a foul smelling gas.

"Disgusting! I think I'm gonna faint!"

The audience was torn between horror and laughter, though the children in it, of which there were many, were laughing their foolish little heads off.

I tried to get control of the situation, calling for everyone to remain calm and to quit panicking, but hardly anyone paid attention. I cast a few Body Binds on the worst cases, like Lady Carruthers and Hawthorne, and finally after ten minutes, most of the effects upon the bonnets wore off. But it took nearly twice as long to soothe all the matriarchs ruffled feathers and tempers.

It was pandemonium, and I was simultaneously embarrassed beyond belief and furious. The contest was ruined, and even if I did manage to salvage part of it, it wouldn't be the same. I looked like a ruddy fool, an incompetent jackass, and I wanted to throttle whoever had done this. I felt myself blushing, something I hadn't done since I was fifteen.

I stepped back up to the podium, holding up my hands. "Quiet, everyone!" I said, using a Voice Amplifying charm so I could be heard over the hubbub. "I apologize for this . . . unexpected turn of events. It would appear these ladies have been the victim of a prankster."

There was plenty of muttering over that.

"Humph!" snorted Gran Augusta. "Well, when you find out who the little brats were that did this, Healer Snape, I hope you tell their parents they deserve a good whipping!"

Several other contestants were nodding in agreement.

"I'd have to agree with that," Dad said suddenly, helping elderly Mabel Bones back onto the podium. "Kid deserves to have his arse tanned good. Sev, what happened?"

"Zonkos products are what were probably used," I said tightly. I was familiar with most of their effects because Harry was forever getting them as gifts from the Weasley twins and testing them out on Lexy and Ron and Hermione. I turned back to the disgruntled contestants and the audience. "I apologize for the interruption. But before we continue to the last stage of the contest, I need to ask if anyone is in need of my healing services?"

In the blink of an eye I had all twenty-five witches and some of the audience lined up in front of the podium. I Summoned my satchel of medical potions and began casting diagnostics. There were witches with bruises and scrapes, mostly, old Lady Hawthorne had twisted her ankle, Serena Merriweather had a broken toe, and I handed out several Calming Drafts and Draughts of Peace for nerves. I also revived a few who had fainted with some smelling salts. I was lucky there had been no serious injuries. Once I had treated the last witch, and had everyone more or less back to normal, I resumed the contest, beginning with the final round and the five witches who had won their categories.

After some five minutes of deliberation, I finally chose Serena Merriweather for the Best Easter bonnet.

Everyone clapped and cheered and the photographer from _Witch Weekly_ came and snapped her photo, which she insisted I be in as well. I groaned inwardly, but could hardly refuse. But the last thing I wanted was my name in the paper.

I heaved a sigh of relief when it was all over. But I was determined to find out how the brat who had pranked the bonnets had managed it in the first place. I wanted whoever it was punished properly, because no child should be allowed to get away with such awful mischief. Gritting my teeth, I slipped away as soon as I could to begin my investigation.

Dad soon caught up with me. "Sev, what are you doing?"

"Figuring out how the brat pranked the contest and hopefully who it was as well." I headed towards the small audience chamber where the bonnets had been placed prior to the last half of the contest. There had been a short break for refreshments and the lavatory, and the contestants had asked to place their bonnets in there until the contest resumed. I had agreed.

I pushed open the door and looked about. The room had a few benches stacked against the wall and a trash can. On the floor near it I saw some colorful powder residue and some spilled yellow, red, and blue solutions. Evidence that someone had certainly done something to the bonnets. My mouth tightened in a grim line.

"Look at that, Sev," Dad pointed to the mess. "Looks like whoever was doing this was careless."

"Yes." I peered into the trash and saw several wrappers and containers and vials, all with the Zonkos label and name on them. "Just as I thought. Zonkos products."

Dad frowned. "That's all well and good, Severus, but all the kids at the first Easter egg hunt got that stuff in their eggs. How can we narrow it down? It could have been almost any kid here today."

I growled irritably. Tobias was right. It was nearly impossible to find the kid who had done this, especially if he had gone into hiding. Damn Albus and his love of practical jokes!

"Hey, what's this?" Dad pointed to something that glinted beneath a bench. He knelt down and withdrew a golden Galleon note for thirty Galleons. "Bloody hell, Sev!"

I stared at the strip of paper. There was only one boy I knew that had won that note. "For the love of Merlin!" I cried, feeling a wave of shame sweep through me.

My son had been responsible for that horrible prank. Most likely he was helped by his best mate, Ron Weasley, who had learned the art of pranking from his twin brothers.

Tobias looked both dismayed and angry. "It was Harry, wasn't it?"

"It would seem so, Dad. I wish it weren't, but . . .finding that note clinches it." I swore colorfully.

"Severus . . . if it was up to me, and I know it's not, but he'd be getting a good licking for this. You're lucky none of those old ladies broke a knee or a hip. Or got a heart attack."

"I know, Dad." I sighed. "I just can't believe he would do something like this. Especially after the last time he pulled something like this, with you and Sirius and the drugged chocolates." When Harry was eight, he had a sleepover with Ron and Lexy, before I married Alaina, and Dad and Sirius were babysitting. Harry and Ron had wanted to stay up all night, and Dad had put his foot down. So they came up with the brilliant idea to slip them chocolates injected with a Sleeping Draft the twins had made. They had been so strong they'd knocked out the both of them for the night. I had come home to find my house a disaster and my father and friend slumbering obliviously. I had immediately known something was off, because Dad never would fall asleep while the kids were awake. Harry had gotten punished quite soundly that time and had promised to never prank his grandfather that way again, and Sirius too. That had been three years ago.

But this . . . this was so much worse. I felt my temper spike. "Just wait until I get my hands on that . . . that deceitful little brat!" I snarled. "He's going to wish he'd stayed home with Inky when I get through with him. Where the hell did I go wrong?"

Dad touched my shoulder lightly. "You didn't, Sev. He's a kid and every kid gets into trouble like this once in awhile."

"I should have told you to confiscate their baskets or something once the hunt was over." I massaged my temples. I was so ashamed and upset. Sometimes Harry behaved just like James, his real father. This was just the kind of thing James would have done.

But unlike my friend, Harry wouldn't be allowed to get away with this. As sure as my name is Severus Snape, there was going to be two sorry little boys in my and the Weasley house tonight.

Poor Molly! She was going to be horrified. She had thought the twins were bad.

I took the 30 Galleon note and shoved it in the pocket of my green robe. Harry wouldn't be allowed to use that until the end of term now. "Come on, let's see if we can find them."

I strode out of the castle, my temper still sizzling.

I spotted the two mischief makers loitering near the bake sale tents looking smug. I'd soon wipe that grin off their face, I thought angrily.

But before I could snatch my errant son by the ear, Lexy came running up to me.

"Dad! I can't find Eileen and Robyn! They've disappeared! I'm sorry, Dad! I've looked everywhere on the lawn, but they've . . . vanished!" She began to cry.

I just stared at her, dread pulsing through me with every beat of my heart.

This was my worst nightmare. My baby girl had gone missing. And so had Jane Granger's. Bloody hell! Could this day get any worse?

**Thanks to everyone who has read this and reviewed it! I apologize for not updating quicker, but I had a death in the family this week, my Aunt Rose passed away and I had a funeral to go to. **

**What do you think happened to Eileen and Robyn?**


	4. Little Girls Lost

**4**

**Little Girls Lost**

_Sev's POV:_

I set my hands on my eldest daughter's shoulders and gave her a mild shake. "Alexis, quit crying and tell me how long Eileen's been missing. Can you do that?"

Lexy gulped hard, her eyes shimmering with tears. "Y-yessir," she sniffled. "I think she's been gone almost . . .fifty minutes."

"Fifty minutes? How is that possible? When did you first notice she was gone, before or after the egg hunt?"

"After it. We—Hermione, Ginny, and I—h-helped Eileen and Robyn and Melody Hawthorne hunt for eggs, like we're supposed to do. I wanted Harry to help but all he wanted to do was go off with Ron and brag about his stupid golden egg." Lexy said indignantly.

"Never mind your brother. He's in serious trouble, but you'll learn more about that later." I told her. "What happened after the hunt?"

My daughter's gaze dropped suddenly to study the tips of my boots. "If I tell you, are you gonna be mad, Dad?"

"Alexis, just tell me!" I ordered exasperatedly. "I'll let you know afterwards how much trouble you're in. Now—out with it!"

"'Kay." She wiped her nose on her sweater. I sighed and gave her a handkerchief. "We'd finished the egg hunt and I told Eileen to go sit on the lawn with Robyn and open her eggs. Ginny was helping Mel open hers and Hermione and I . . . well, we got to talking . . . about our favorite books and Hermione said she was gonna volunteer at the library this summer and I said that would be neat and maybe I could too . . . M'sorry, sir, but we . . .lost track of time and weren't paying attention to what the girls were doing. Ginny had to take Mel to the bathroom and when she came back, she asked where the girls were and that was when we noticed they were gone. Hermione and I called and looked all over the lawn, but we couldn't find them. We asked some of the other kids, but they hadn't seen them leave. Ginny went to see if they had gone to show Mom their eggs, but they weren't there either."

"Does your mother know Eileen's missing?" I interrupted.

Lexy shook her head. "No. Ginny didn't want to tell and make us get in trouble, 'specially if the girls were around and we found them. But we've been searching and searching and we can't find them, Dad! I'm really sorry, I know I was responsible for her and it's all my fault she's lost . . .!"

I frowned at her. "We'll discuss your behavior later, Alexis Marie. Right now, the important thing is finding those two little girls. Have you asked Uncle Al if he's seen them?"

"No."

"Go and do that. I'll be along shortly, after I speak with your brother about something." I ordered. I watched as she turned and hurried off. Then I looked over at where Harry and Ron were standing.

Harry was patting his pockets and looking very upset. "I can't believe I . . . lost it, Ron! It was in my pocket when we went into the castle, I know it was . . ."

"I hope nobody found it and decided to keep it," Ron was saying, looking sympathetic. "That really sucks, Harry. You could have bought an awful lot of joke products."

Harry looked very distressed.

Mouth clamped in a grim line , I strode over to my disgrace of a son and his troublemaking partner in crime. "Looking for something, Harry James Severus?" I demanded silkily, pulling out the note from my robe pocket.

"Dad! You found it!" Harry exclaimed, staring at the note, his eyes alight. "Where was it?"

My eyes narrowed. "It's a funny thing, Mr. Potter. Because I found this very note in a room next to the Great Hall, where the contestants for the Easter bonnet contest had placed their bonnets briefly while they took a short break. Now how do you suppose it got there?"

My son gulped. "Err . . .uhh . . .I don't know . . ."

"Don't you lie to me!" I snarled, my temper suddenly snapping like a frayed thread. After all the injuries and turmoil he had caused, making me ashamed and humiliated, this was the final straw. My eyes blazing, I thought _How dare the little snot lie to me? I'm going to teach him a lesson he'll never forget._ Almost without thought, my hand lifted, ready to smack the boy into next week.

Until a steely hand clamped about my wrist, restraining me.

"_Severus!_ Calm down and think about what you're doing!"

It was my father. Suddenly the red haze that had possessed me flickered and went out. Breathing hard, I looked at my hand and then at my son, who was staring at me in fear. So was Ron. Only then did I realize what I had almost done, what my father had prevented me from doing, striking my child in anger. That was the one thing I had sworn I would never do, punish my child in anger, for such had been my father's bane. I blinked, struggling to control my temper. I had come so close to losing it. So very close. Had my father not been there . . . I might have done to Harry what he did to me as a boy, smacked him hard enough to knock him down and leave a mark on him.

How ironic, I thought with a sneer at myself, that the man who had hurt me so much growing up, now prevented me from making the same mistake.

Ron looked at me as if I had suddenly become a raging werewolf. "P-please , H-healer Snape, don't kill us! We're really sorry! We'll never do it again! Promise!" The redhead wailed.

"Do what, young man?" I demanded.

"P-play pranks on . . .on old ladies!" sniveled the youngest Weasley son.

Harry was nodding frantically, apparently too shocked to speak.

"So . . . you admit it was you who pranked the Easter bonnets with Zonkos products?" I growled, disgusted.

"Yes . . .sir." Harry mumbled, not looking at me.

I reached out and gripped his ear hard.

"Oww! Dad, I'm sorry!" he whined.

"You ought to be, young man! I can't tell you how disgusted I am with you right now. But I'll deal with you later. First I need to find your baby sister."

"Eileen? How come?"

"Because she's lost. Now, come with me."

I marched Harry and Ron over to Hagrid's hut and pushed them inside. "You are to stay here until I return, am I understood? As a matter of fact . . . Dad, would you mind staying here and keeping an eye on these two? I can't trust them to behave."

I also couldn't trust my temper right now and knew the best thing was to get far away from them before I did something unforgivable.

"Of course, Sev. I'll keep an eye on the little rotters," assured my father. He gave them both a very angry Snape glare.

The two flinched and cringed. Harry was lucky that he was Tobias' grandson and not his son, else his backside would be striped raw by the business end of Tobias' belt. I had no doubt that my father would lecture them severely before I came back. I took several deep breaths, wishing I had a Calming Draught for myself, but I had used the last one in my medical kit for the stricken matrons.

I left then, moving across the lawn to where Albus was standing, surrounded by Hermione, Ginny, and Lexy. All three girls looked like they'd been crying, there were tear stains and snot all over their faces. Albus was handing out handkerchiefs and lemon drops, trying to console them.

He looked up and spotted me coming towards him. "Severus, don't worry! We'll find them. They could have fallen asleep in Hagrid's pumpkin patch."

I hadn't thought of that. "Albus, what about the forest?" I asked, feeling my raw nerves start to quiver.

"No, my boy, they couldn't have gone in there. I put a Boundary Charm over the field and the tots couldn't cross that."

I breathed a half-sigh of relief. At least I didn't have to worry about some animal eating them. "All right then, where could they be?"

"I'm not sure, but perhaps you ought to check the castle, while we search out here." Albus suggested. "Minerva can help you. She knows the castle like the back of her hand and can command the portraits and ghosts to help as well."

That was sound advice, and soon Minerva and I were heading to the castle, calling for Eileen and Robyn loudly. I prayed that they had simply fallen asleep somewhere and weren't hurt or sick. I was irritated at Lexy, but not the way I was at Harry. This was certainly turning out to be a holiday I could never forget, no matter how much I wanted to.

I had decided against informing Alaina about our missing child just yet. Let one of us at least have a good Easter, though I'd tell her later after Eileen was safe. I was determined to find my baby girl, no matter what it took. I refused to contemplate the fact that someone might have kidnapped her. Or Robyn.

"I'm going to cast a Locator charm, Minerva," I told the elderly witch. That charm had saved my sanity more than once with Harry as a toddler and young child. I drew my wand and chanted softly, "Point me Eileen Lily Snape."

To my horror, the charm failed. That had never happened before. Frantic, I re-cast it. I could feel the magic uncoiling from me, spiraling outward, seeking my daughter . . . and then it stopped, as if something had prevented it. Panic surged through me. "Minerva, the locator charm isn't working!" I rasped, my throat hoarse with terror.

She turned to me. She did not look alarmed. "Severus, calm down. The castle is warded against locator charms. Don't you remember? Albus put that defense in place years ago, to prevent unscrupulous students from ambushing each other or spying upon a classmate in a private moment."

"Oh. Oh, that's right." I wanted to hit myself in the forehead for forgetting such a simple thing. Now I recalled Albus informing me about the wards.

"That's why Albus requested that I help you search. Because the portraits will speak to me where they might not to you, and so will the House ghosts, as I am Deputy Headmistress." We marched up to a suit of armor that flanked the doors of the Great Hall, which were now closed, as the contest was over. "Have you seen two small girls go by here recently?" she asked the suit. "They would have been alone, without parents. Severus, what were they wearing?"

For an instant, my mind drew a blank. What _had_ Eileen and Robyn been wearing? But then I remembered. "Eileen was wearing a lilac cotton dress with small white lilies on it and lace ruffles and a hat with lilies, tulips, and rainbow ribbons on it. And Robyn had a ruffled pink dress and white shoes. Eileen had lavender shoes."

I looked hopefully at the animated suit of armor.

"Well? Did you see anyone with that description?"

The suit shook its helmeted head.

"Damn it!" I swore, frustration coloring my tone.

Minerva patted my arm. "Don't worry, Severus. We'll find them. They're probably up in one of the dormitories, taking a nap. It's been a busy morning and afternoon."

"You can say that again."

We walked by a row of portraits of ladies dancing and Minerva stopped and asked questions again. "If you haven't seen them, could you contact the other portraits on this level and ask them?"

"_Oui, Madame," _agreed one, curtseying. She was a French ballerina. She had not seen them, but she and her sisters quickly ran off to see if any other portraits on the main floor had.

We waited, until I was about to start gnawing my fingernails, before the ballerina reported back that no little girls matching their description had been seen on this floor. We climbed up to the second floor, where the classrooms were, and Minerva called for Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor House ghost.

He came in a rush of wind, and bowed handsomely to her. "Gracious Lady, how may I assist you?"

"Sir Nicholas, we are searching for two small girls who may be lost and wandering about the castle. One of them is Healer Snape's daughter, Harry Potter's little sister, Eileen. The other is named Robyn, she's Hermione Granger's sister."

"Oh! Gracious heavens! The poor children!" Sir Nicholas frowned. "You know, a while ago I thought I heard the sound of a little child crying, but I figured since the castle was full of visitors it belonged to someone . . ."

"Do you remember where you heard it?" I prompted.

"Ah . . .I believe it was somewhere up here."

We ran down the corridor, calling for Eileen and Robyn. I could only imagine how frightened they must be, lost in this great moldering castle. I could recall getting totally turned about on my first days as a student here and that had been frightening for an eleven-year-old, never mind two toddlers.

But we found no sign of them, not in any of the classrooms or the bathroom. Just as I stepped out of the last classroom, which was Defense Against the Dark Arts, Peeves appeared in front of me.

I glared at the poltergeist, who loved tormenting students. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"I live here, or have you given yourself a lobotomy, Healer Snape?" he sneered.

"Have you seen two little girls, about three years old, wandering the castle recently?"

Peeves smiled maliciously. "You're asking _me_?" He asked mockingly. "Little children, blech! They're trouble . . .and they whine and cry too much . . .Boo hoo! I want my Mummy!" He made his voice into a falsetto, like a small child's. Then he gave a very convincing performance of a child wailing. "Where are you? Daddy, come and save me!"

"Stop it!" I snarled, furious that the spirit dared to make fun of my pain and anguish.

"Make me, Healer!" Peeves gloated, then blew a spitball at me. Then he flew about in circles above my head, causing a mini cyclone which tugged at robes and pulled my hair free of my hair tie. "You can't get me! You can't get me! Nynaa-nynaa! Poor little Snape has lost his baby and can't tell where to find her! See here, see here, I gravely fear . . .she'll be lost fore-ver-r!"

Before I could totally lose it and cast a Wind Gust hex that would tear the annoying wraith into shreds, Minerva appeared and cried, "Peeves! Don't start with Healer Snape! Do you know where those two little girls are? Well?" She came up and glowered at the ghost. "Answer me!"

Peeves snickered and chortled. "Whoo-hoo, Madame Cat! What's got your fur in a knot? Here, kitty, kitty!"

"Peeves! I am _not_ amused! Now give me a straight answer!" McGonagall crossed her arms, looking very much like a teacher about to discipline a wayward student.

Peeves meowed and barked and blew a raspberry at her.

I drew my wand, ready to cast, for I wasn't minded to waste precious time coaxing the irritating ghost to speak. Then I recalled something from my student days in Slytherin. There was only one thing in the castle that Peeves feared, and it wasn't the Headmaster. "Lord Huntingdon!" I called, using the Bloody Baron's family name, which had been forgotten by all save us Slytherins. As members of the House of Serpents, only we were ever allowed to summon him by his name.

Peeves abruptly stopped his antics and whimpered.

Suddenly a chill wind blew through the corridor and the tall figure of a man dressed in medieval court attire appeared. He had dark hair, saturnine features, and a bloody hole where his heart used to be. He had a sword at his side. "What Slytherin has dared to call me by my secret name?"

"I did. Severus Snape, Master Healer."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Snape. I remember you. Always with your nose in a book. Why did you call me?" He shot a fierce look at Peeves. "Was it perhaps because of this wicked devil here? Stay where you are, varlet!" he growled at Peeves, who had been trying to melt away.

Peeves squeaked and whimpered, "Aye, Your Bloodiness!"

I quickly told him about the missing children and how Peeves refused to tell us whether or not he had seen them.

The Baron scowled and poked at the poltergeist with his sword. "Tell the truth, knave! None of your games and slanderous tongue! Or else!"

"All right! Mercy, Mr. Baron!" the poltergeist whined, trembling. "I did see the little brats! They was walking down 'ere and I jumped out an' made a scary face at 'em. Ooh, it were sooo funny! Made the two little witches jump, so I did! Then they run away, bawling." He started giggling like an insane hyena.

"Evil wretch!" the Baron scolded, and smacked Peeves with the flat of his sword. "Where did they go? Speak!"

Peeves yelped as the other ghost whacked him again, pummeling his backside. "Oww! Oww! Please don't beat me, sir! Owww! I'll tell! I chased 'em a ways, and they fetched up by the seer's tower. One of 'em climbed the stairs and banged on the door an' she came out and took 'em inside. That's the truth, Your Bloodiness, I swear on my mum's grave!"

"Humph! You never knew your mother, you wretched swine! You were a foundling the monks took in!" snorted the Baron. "Now get you gone, and if I find you were lying to me, I'll give you such a thrashing you'll wish you'd died again!"

Peeves went transparent, then vanished.

"Thank you, my lord," McGonagall said.

The Bloody Baron swept her a bow. "You are welcome, Mistress McGonagall. If he has played you false, let me know. Good luck to you, Severus Snape." Then he disappeared as well.

"Come, Sev. Let's see if Sibyll has been entertaining our two lost lassies," Minerva said and together we hurried to the entrance to Trelawney's tower.

Minerva rapped on the door. "Sibyll, are you there? It's Minerva and Healer Sev. We need to ask you a very important question, so please let us in."

The door was opened quickly. Trelawney peered at us through her huge lenses and smiled. "Oh, are you here about my two little guests, Minerva? Do come in!"

She stepped back and we entered her private sanctuary, which was outfitted like a gypsy wagon, her scarves fluttering behind her like butterfly wings.

"You found my daughter Eileen and her friend Robyn?" I half-panted, for I had taken those stairs like a bat out of hell.

"One of them is your little girl, Healer Sev?" she exclaimed. "I had no idea you had such an adorable child!"

"Where is she?" I asked, looking about and seeing cabinets overflowing with china and scarves and silver tea services, plus a large crystal ball on a clawfooted table and strands of multi-colored crystals dangling from the ceiling, but no small children about.

"There," she pointed at her large poufy green divan. "The poor little imp and her friend fell asleep after I gave them tea and cakes. I didn't want to wake them to find out who their parents were and I was just about to scry for you when you came knocking. What a fortunate coincidence!"

I walked over to the couch and exhaled loudly upon seeing my youngest asleep and well. "Thank Merlin, Sibyll! You have no idea how relieved I am to find them here and not . . . trapped in a broom closet or a toilet somewhere."

"How did you find them?" asked Minerva. She was smiling benevolently down on both children, who were snuggled next to each other like a pair of kittens.

"Why, they came to me, crying and banging on my door. Your small one, Healer Sev, said a scary ghost had chased them. The other little one was crying that all her Easter basket had spilled and her sweets were gone too. So I performed a small Summoning charm and put all the sweets back in her basket and invited them in for tea. They were most eager to have a tea party with me."

"Eileen and Robyn love tea parties," I told her. The two girls were forever making their older siblings play that with them, and their mothers as well. Even I had gotten dragged into one a time or two, but I wasn't about to admit that to Trelawney.

"When I cast my rune sticks this morning, they told me I would have a pleasant surprise today, but I never thought it would involve two little girls. They were so cute and so well mannered too. I gave them each some of my mild black tea blend with half milk and sugar."

I was happy to hear that, because sometimes my children forgot their manners when in mixed company. I then saw two small white baskets with colorful plastic eggs in them, obviously their Easter sweets from the egg hunt. "I am very grateful to you, Sibyll, for finding them and making sure they were safe. I nearly lost my head when my older daughter came and told me they were missing."

"Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry! Perhaps I should have sent an owl to Albus telling him I'd found them, so you wouldn't worry. I didn't think . . . I was enjoying their company and my Inner Eye tends to go insane with crowds of people, that's why I stay away from events like these . . ." Sibyll said, biting her lip.

"No harm done, Sybill. At least the lassies are safe and sound," McGonagall stated. "That Peeves! One of these days I'm going to chase him right out of the castle."

I knelt and lifted my slumbering daughter into my arms. I knew I would need to have a long talk with her later at home, about going somewhere without telling someone, and maybe give her a swat and a time out to make the lesson stick, but I would worry about that later. Eileen was unharmed and that was all that mattered to me right then. "Minerva, will you take Robyn? I'm sure Jane is frantic also."

"Of course, Sev." She picked up Robyn, who was also so exhausted she never stirred. "Sibyll, did you dose them with a Sleeping Draught?"

"No, but usually warm tea and scones make me sleepy, especially after walking about in the fresh air." The Divination teacher said. She gave the two sleeping toddlers a wistful look. "Perhaps you might bring her back sometime for a visit?"

"Yes, when I have some free time. I'm sure Eileen would enjoy that," I agreed. I stroked my child's tangled curls, and rocked her gently.

Sibyll beamed, then she picked up a tea cup off of the table and swirled it about, peering at it intently. "I . . . predict that you will have an evening of both laughter and tears, Healer Snape. I wish you and your family a joyous Easter."

"And you as well, professor," I told her sincerely. That was one prediction I wouldn't argue with, considering I still had to tell Alaina about Eileen's little adventure and punish my troublemaking son, who I was sure was praying for me to have memory loss before we returned home tonight. I sighed. I would also have a talk with Lexy as well about keeping a better eye on her sister, but I wasn't going to be too hard on her, for hers was an innocent mistake.

We departed the tower and Minerva smiled at me and said, "Thank goodness it was Sibyll who found them instead of someone else. There's no telling what would have happened otherwise."

I nodded, hoping that this holiday had run out of surprises to throw at me.

_How did you all like the scene with Peeves and the Baron? I had to put it in, since my nephew's favorite character is Peeves and he begged me to._

_How will Sev punish Harry and Lexy?_

_Next: A night full of laughter and tears . . . as Trelawney predicted. All the kids face the consequences of their decisions, from both parents and Tobias._


	5. Laughter and Tears

**5**

**Laughter and Tears**

**Warning: some spanking this chapter! Don't like, skip that part.**

Harry's POV:

Until this afternoon, I had never feared my father's temper. Oh, I had been afraid of disappointing him, of his scolding tongue, but that's not the same. I had always known he had a quick temper, but usually it was controlled to a hair trigger degree. I had seen it flare up, but just as quickly seen him wrestle it into submission. But today I had actually discovered a new thing—Dad wasn't perfect. His control over his temper wasn't absolute. I hadn't meant to lie to him, not really, I knew he had no tolerance for kids who did so, but the words had just slipped off my tongue. I had been caught out and like any silly kid hoping to avoid punishment, I had tried to pretend I was innocent. I knew better. I really did. But I lied anyway. What can I say? Sometimes I'm an idiot. I was pushing again, trying to see how much I could get away with. With Dad, not much. But I push anyway. Today I pushed too far.

When he lifted his hand, I was sure I was going to get it in a big way. And for the first time ever I was scared of my father. I'd been hit across the face before, by my grandpa once when he recovering from a hangover and half-asleep. That was long ago, but I still remembered it. And how furious my dad had been about it. That had nearly ended their relationship with each other. I hadn't deserved to get smacked that time. This time though . . . I deserved to. But what terrified me wasn't the hitting part, it was the fact that Dad was so . . . out of control. That wasn't something I'd ever seen Severus Snape lose. Not really. But he did then. And I was scared to pieces.

Lucky for us both Grandpa was there to stop him.

Except now I had to face my grandfather's anger and disapproval as well as Dad's. I was sitting in a large wooden chair in Hagrid's hut, with my best friend Ron next to me, he was more scared of the Snape temper than I was. Both of us were convinced we weren't going to live to see our second year. I regretted that stupid Easter bonnet prank more and more with every passing second. What had seemed like a totally brilliant idea then was now turning out to be one of my stupidest. I scooted my bum back in my chair, it was so big I could have had another person sit next to me with room left over, and I gave Grandpa my best _I'm-really-sorry-and-I'll-never-do-it-again_ look.

All he did was scowl at me. I winced.

"Harry James Severus, do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? Or how much you and Mr. Weasley caused because of your so-called prank? I cannot believe a grandson of mine would behave like that! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, boy! I know I am."

I hung my head and mumbled that I was sorry. It didn't help. When I glanced up he was still glaring at me.

"Now, I'll admit that I played pranks too back in the day, but mine never endangered other people's health or their lives." Grandpa said, his voice hard and sharp.

"People's _lives_?" croaked Ron, shivering. "All we did was put joke products on their hats, Mr. Snape."

"_All_ you did? Boy, do you realize that those hats were on the heads of elderly ladies when those jokes products went to work? They caused a panic, and you're damn lucky no one broke a hip running off the stage or had a panic attack or a heart condition and got seriously injured. Those pranks might seem mighty funny played on someone your age, but playing them on those poor old witches was just plain wrong and not funny at all. What were you thinking? Or _not_ thinking, I ought to say?"

"We just wanted to have fun, sir," Ron answered before I could form the words.

I was willing to let him talk, for now I was feeling guilty and ashamed. I hadn't thought about anyone getting hurt. Zonko's products were meant to be funny.

"How funny did you find the prank after it happened?" Grandpa demanded.

I thought about it. At first, I had laughed my arse off. . . until one of the old ladies fell down. Then it hadn't seemed so funny anymore. But by then it had been too late. I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Not very funny." I admitted. "Does . . . does everyone know we did it?"

Tobias shook his head. "No. Your father and I figured it out because we found that Galleon note in the anteroom. We didn't tell anyone else . . . yet. But I know that both your mothers will be told before this evening's over." He shook his head. "You've pulled a lot of crazy stunts, Harry, but this one takes the whole bloody cake. Some of those old women got hurt because of your prank. One sprained her ankle and some of them got scraped and bruised and a few fainted. Did you know that?"

"No, sir," I replied, not daring to look him in the eye. "Is that why Dad was so mad?"

"That and because you humiliated him in front of all those people."

"He did the same thing to me last night," I objected, recalling the other reason I'd done what I had.

"What do you mean?"

"He . . . he treated me like a little baby, telling me to go to bed and . . . and stuff in front of Ron." I said, struggling to keep the self-pity from my voice.

Grandpa nearly roasted me with his Snape glare. "Are you telling me that you pranked that contest because Sev told you to go to bed early, young man?"

"No. Not exactly."

"Then suppose you tell me exactly what you do mean?"

I gulped and tried to explain myself. Even to my own ears I sounded lame. But he had asked.

"Boy, I promised myself and your father a long time ago that I'd leave the discipline to him, but I'll tell you straight out that if I hadn't made that promise, you'd be over my knee getting ten of the best with my belt. Not just because of the prank, but because of your attitude. You've behaved like a spoiled brat this Easter, Harry James Severus, and that's not something I want to see in my grandson."

I started to snivel, knowing full well that he meant every word. And it hurt, seeing him so ashamed of me. I had always admired Grandpa. He had made a lot of mistakes with my dad when he was growing up, but he'd admitted them and done his best to turn himself around and make himself into a new man. A man that both Dad and I respected and loved. But at the same time, I didn't want to admit that he was right.

"I'm not a spoiled brat, Grandpa!" I sniffed. "_You_ thought it was funny when Dad got stuck judging the contest too. Isn't that why you came to watch it?"

"Harry, I was teasing your dad a little. But I would have never deliberately done something to make him embarrassed. Do you like seeing your dad look like a fool in front of half the school? Well?"

"N-no, sir. I just wanted . . ." I trailed off, because there wasn't any excuse I could make for what I'd done. I had been petty and mean.

"Hope you're happy now, boy. Your selfishness has made your dad look like an incompetent idiot. To some people. If you had done what Lexy asked and helped her mind your little sister, you wouldn't be sitting here right now worrying about getting your arse tanned. And maybe Eileen might not have gotten lost either."

"How did Eileen get lost?"

"She wandered off with Robyn while Lexy and 'Mione were talking about volunteering at the library."

"Figures," I snorted. Mention books and they were like obsessed.

"Quit acting all high and mighty, young man! You might have prevented that if you hadn't been so busy trying to pay back your father. I hope you both had a good laugh, because I doubt you'll be laughing any time soon, once Severus gets through with you, Harry. Or Molly with you, Ronald."

Ron went white. "Oh, please, sir! Don't tell her! Please?"

"That's out of my hands. If you don't want to get in trouble, don't do something you know is wrong. There's a time and a place to prank and this was not it."

Ron groaned and I knew he was probably going to get his bum walloped by Miss Molly's spoon. Ouch!

"Where do you think Eileen's gone?" I asked, now I felt bad because of that too.

"Your dad was going to check the castle. I hope he finds her soon."

"Me too," I said. "Maybe I could go help him look?"

"Oh, no you don't, Harry James Severus. You're going to stay right here where I can keep an eye on you. I'm sure your dad and Aunt Min can find Eileen on their own. Not to mention your Uncle Al."

"How about Mum?" Surely she was out looking for Eileen too.

"Your mother doesn't know about Eileen going missing. Yet." Grandpa sighed. "Your dad didn't want her getting hysterical. You know your mum's greatest fear is one of her kids getting kidnapped again."

I nodded. When I was eight, Alaina's ex-husband Dan had kidnapped me, Lexy, and Hermione and tried to make my mum give Lexy to him. We had been prisoners for a few days and it had been awful. For both us and my parents.

"I hope that Lee and Robyn are okay," Ron said, and I echoed him. Lee was what we sometimes called Eileen.

I never wanted anything to happen to my baby sister.

Grandpa leaned back in his chair, and together we waited for the return of my dad.

Minutes seemed to go by like hours, until I began to hope that my father had forgotten about us because of Eileen. Wishful thinking. Severus Snape never forgets anything.

Then the door opened and Dad entered, followed by Molly Weasley, who also looked steamed. He stood looking at me in the doorway and I turned my head away, I felt about two inches tall.

Grandpa stood up. "Sev, did you find Eileen and Robyn?"

"Yes. They were both sleeping in Professor Trelawney's tower. She's the Divination teacher, she found them after they'd been chased by bloody Peeves, Hogwart's poltergeist, and had a tea party with them. They fell asleep on her couch and she was going to ask Albus about them when Minerva and I arrived. She's with Alaina now, asleep on a blanket on the grass. And Robyn's with Jane and Hermione."

"Thank God!" Grandpa looked relieved. "For a few minutes there I thought we might need those magical police."

"You still might, Toby." Molly said sternly. She turned, her hands on her hips, and a look that rivaled my dad's at his worst on her face. I noticed a red second place rosette was pinned to her robes. "Ronald Bilius Weasley! I cannot believe that you would do such a thing to those poor elderly witches! This is worse than anything your brothers ever did, and I thought they were bad. Some of those witches are my friends . . . and my son almost causes them to have heart failure. I'm so ashamed of you, young man! I taught you better than that! And here I thought you were becoming more mature. Honestly, Ronald, you make me want to tear out my hair!"

Ron hung his head. "Mum, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt them, I just thought it'd be funny, 'cause some of them had the ugliest hats and all."

"Unbelievable!" she threw up her hands. "You're going to be even sorrier when we get home, young man, and I take my spoon to your behind!" She walked over and grabbed Ron by the ear. "Now, apologize to Healer Snape, Ronald, for ruining his contest."

Scowling, she marched Ron up to my dad. Ron apologized, looking at his shoes. "Severus, I don't know what to say, except I promise he'll never do anything like this again." Molly said, looking very ashamed and embarrassed.

"I understand, Molly. Ron's not to blame for all of it. Harry was doing it right along with him," Dad reminded her. "Congratulations on your ribbon in the Bake Off, and I hope you have a Happy Easter." He then looked at my friend, who was sniffling. "Ronald, I forgive you. Don't ever do it again."

"Okay, sir."

"If you'll excuse us," Molly said. She bid us goodbye and dragged Ron out of the hut by his ear.

Dad whirled on me. "If I could trust my temper right now, Mr. Potter, you'd be getting a good spanking just like Ronald. Since I can't, however, it'll have to wait till this evening."

I gulped. This did not sound good at all. Dad normally never made us wait when we were in trouble. We were punished right away. I shivered. "Yessir."

"Dad, do you want to come home with us and eat supper?"

Tobias considered. "All right, Sev. I never refuse your or Alaina's cooking."

"Come on, then." Dad beckoned us out of the hut.

_Later that evening:_

Over dinner, which was a light supper of _cock-a-leekie_ soup (chicken soup with leeks), fresh bread, and sandwiches, Dad told us about how Peeves had taunted him and how the Baron had put him in his place. It made all of us laugh, imagining the pesky ghost getting walloped with the Baron's sword. Every Hogwarts student had had run ins with the ghost before, and had gotten in trouble for something Peeves did. He had made me late for class on more than one occasion by causing me to trip over my mysteriously untied shoes or causing a door to get stuck.

"There's one thing I don't understand, though," Lexy said. "If Peeves is already dead and a ghost, then how could the Baron's sword hurt him?"

Dad shook his head. "They're composed of energy, Alexis, and perhaps the Baron's energy is stronger than Peeves' and he can therefore use it to make the poltergeist extremely uncomfortable for a time. If you want a better answer, perhaps you ought to write Minerva or read a book on ghosts."

"Good idea, Dad." Lexy said.

For dessert, there was Mum's blue ribbon winning spice cake with homemade cream cheese frosting. I would have had two helpings of it, but Dad told me no dessert was part of my punishment. I sulked, but didn't dare argue with him.

I could barely eat because I was anticipating the spanking to come, so missing dessert wasn't quite as bad as it could have been.

Finally the meal was over, and Grandpa said it was time for him to get on home. He normally would have stayed and talked or played cards with Dad, me, Lexy, and Mum, but he knew Dad had us to deal with and it had been a long day. He hugged us goodbye, but took me aside and said, "Harry, I hope after this you learn your lesson about playing pranks."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry I made you ashamed of me," I said.

"Kid, you made a mistake—a big one—but I want you to learn from it. Do that, Harry, and I'll always be proud of you."

I threw my arms about him and hugged him back. "Happy Easter, Grandpa."

"Same to you, you wretched scamp!" Then he turned me around and gave me a smart swat. "Behave, and don't give your parents any more gray hairs, y'hear?"

"I won't." I headed into the den, where Dad had told us to wait for him, and gave my behind a quick rub. It stung a little. I remained standing in front of the fireplace, Lexy and Eileen were already there. Lexy looked ashamed, Eileen puzzled.

Our parents came in then and seated themselves on the sofa, looking stern and upset. Dad cleared his throat and said, "Harry and Lexy, I know you know why you're here. Eileen Lily, come here."

Eileen ran over to him and crawled onto his lap. She looked up at him and Mum. "Are you mad at me?"

Dad frowned. "Yes. I am both mad and disappointed in you, young lady. You know that you're not to wander off without asking permission from me or your mother. How many times have I told you that?"

"Lots," she said.

"Why did you leave Lexy without telling her where you were going?"

"Umm . . ." She looked about and squirmed.

"Eileen, tell the truth."

" . . .cause I needed to go potty. Real bad, n' Lexy was with 'Mione. M'sorry!" She started to cry. "I didn' mean to get lost, Daddy! But a bad ghostie chased me!"

"Eileen, look at me. Do you know why you got lost?"

She shook her head.

"It's because you're too small to wander around Hogwarts yourself. You need a grown-up or Harry or Lexy to help you find your way around. Anything could have happened to you and Mum and I would have never known if you were hurt or sick because we didn't know where you were."

"You could have been taken away by strangers too," Alaina added. "And then you would have never seen us again."

"Forever?"

"Yes, forever. That's why you should never ever run off like that. You made Daddy and I very scared, Eileen. Understand?"

My little sister's lip stuck out. Tears flowed from her eyes. "Am I in twouble?"

"Yes. You're getting a four minute time out and a swat," Dad said. He flipped her over his lap and gave her a smack. "Never _ever_ do that again." Eileen was bawling. Then he took her over to the corner and made her sit on the Naughty Stool for four minutes.

I winced in sympathy. I remembered those days. Suddenly, I wished I were three again, when the worst spanking I'd ever gotten was because I threw a toy train at my father.

Afterwards, he hugged her and she promised to behave, then he took her off to bed.

While my father was doing that, Mum looked at Lexy and said, "Alexis, you shouldn't have been talking to Hermione while minding your sister. You know Eileen's like the wind, into everything."

"I know, Mom. I'm really sorry!" Lexy said, blinking back tears. "I just didn't think."

"I can see that. Normally you're much more responsible than that, Lex. What _should_ you have done after the Easter egg hunt?"

"I . . . should've brought Eileen to you or Mrs. Granger and Robyn too. That way you could've watched her while Hermione and I were talking. I just . . . got so excited that I . . . forgot. It won't happen again."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, your dad and I discussed this and we both agree that you made an honest mistake, so you won't be in too much trouble for it. You're grounded for the weekend, that means no books from the library and no flying."

She groaned. For my sister, being without new books from the library was the ultimate in boredom. "Okay. That's fair." Then she asked, "Mom, can I volunteer at the library with Hermione this summer?"

"We'll see, Lexy. Right now, I think you need a good night's sleep." She stood up and hugged my sister. "Good night, Lex."

"Night, Mom." She pulled away and gave me a thumbs-up sign before going down the hall to her room. On the way there I heard her talking to Dad, telling him good night before closing the door to her room. She knew, of course, what awaited me. I had confessed all of my stupidity to her after supper, when we were washing and drying the dishes. She had just looked at me and said, "Merlin, Harry, but I swear you and Ron go out of your way looking for trouble! Why do you do that? Just to see how mad you can make Dad?"

I hadn't answered her, because I wasn't sure I knew the answer. There was a part of me, the rebellious part, that did want to push my father to the edge of his control. But now that I had done it, it didn't seem like anything to be proud of. Especially not when I was about to suffer the consequences of my dumb decision.

Mum just looked at me, her dark eyes filled with disappointment. "You know, Harry, this wasn't the way I imagined spending Easter evening. With all of my children in trouble and your father so upset. I had wanted to have a nice peaceful holiday, playing board games and eating popcorn and drinking lemonade, relaxing with a good book. Now, I sort of expected Eileen to find mischief, she's at the age where she's testing her boundaries and prone to doing forbidden things. But you . . . you I thought were old enough to act responsibly. I thought I could trust you to set an example for your sister. Guess I was wrong, huh?"

There really was nothing I could say to that. So I nodded.

"Part of your punishment is a grounding for three weeks and no seeing Ron for the rest of the break. I also think you should use some of that money you won to anonymously "help" those ladies who were injured by your prank. But that's up to you. I think you know the last part of your punishment. Go to your room, Harry. Your dad will be by in a bit."

I went and hugged her. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." She kissed my cheek and I went to wait on my bed.

I figured Dad would be there in a few minutes. I waited and waited. I checked my watch. I was about to climb the wall. Why was he torturing me like this? I got into pajamas. Finally, it had been nearly thirty minutes, and I couldn't take it anymore. I crept down the hall, and heard my father talking to Mum.

" . . .made me so angry, Alaina, that I nearly lost it. I almost hauled off and smacked him to the ground. . . I've never been so furious before . . . thank God that my father was able to stop me . . . can't believe he would do something so irresponsible . . . I always thought Harry was more like Lily than James, but after this . . . I'm not so sure. This sort of stupid prank is exactly what my old friend would have pulled . . . and did once upon a time . . . to his elderly aunt." He sighed. "Merlin help me, I thought I was done with blistering his behind . . . you know how I hate it . . . but it seems to be the only thing that gets through that stubborn skull of his . . ."

Oh, damn! Now I felt even worse. I quickly scurried back down the hall.

A few minutes later, he came in, looking resigned more than angry. Out came the desk chair. He sat down and crooked a finger at me. I walked over, swallowing hard, my feet dragging. I had known this was coming, but even knowing didn't make it easier to accept it. "Harry James Severus, you had better hope this is the last time you ever find yourself in this position. Over my knee."

I obeyed. I felt ridiculous, I was almost twelve and getting a spanking as if I were Eileen's age. But I knew I deserved it. It had been over a year since I'd gotten my bottom warmed and I had forgotten how humiliating it was. And also how painful. I had promised myself I wasn't going to cry. Or wriggle. I was going to take my punishment silently, like a true stoic Slytherin. Six smacks later I was bawling like a baby and trying to avoid Dad's hand and cursing the fact that I was wearing light cotton pajamas which did nothing to cushion my bum. Dad only ever used his hand but after ten whacks I was sure I wouldn't be able to sit again for a week. I couldn't ever recall a spanking hurting so much. Then he paused.

I started to sit up, but he pushed me back down. "Stay where you are. I'm not finished yet. Those were for the prank itself. The next four are for deliberately humiliating me in front of everyone."

I gasped. "Grandpa told?" I half-wailed.

"No. I happened to overhear you tell Lexy in the kitchen." His voice was ice and steel.

"I'm sorry! Really! I never should have done it."

"At least you've learned something."

The last four swats were harder than the previous ones. But finally it was over.

I lay there, crying, my pride in tatters. I was sure he would never forgive me.

Then hands lifted me and drew me up, cradling me against a broad shoulder. I was too old to be held like this, but I put my head on his shoulder anyway. "Hush, son. Shhh." Hands were rubbing my back. "All's forgiven, Harry. Now don't ever make me do this again."

For some reason that made me cry harder. Finally, I managed to pull myself together enough to ask, "How can you forgive me after what I did?"

"Because that's what fathers do. They forgive their children for their mistakes."

"Even for this?"

"Yes. Are you sorry for what you did?"

"Yessir."

"Are you ever going to do anything like that again?"

I shook my head rapidly.

"Then it's done and over with. All except your grounding, that is. You can serve one week for the rest of your holiday and the rest during the summer. Go wash your face and blow your nose."

I did, wincing as I walked towards the bathroom. This would be my last spanking, I vowed. From now on I would do my best to behave so my dad could be proud of me. I splashed water over my face and tried to ignore my stinging bottom. I wagered it hurt me just as much as I'd hurt my dad.

When I returned to my room, Dad was still sitting there, rubbing his hand on his knee and grimacing. "Damn it all, I hurt my hand," I heard him mutter.

I gave him a lopsided smile. "Guess it's true what they say, huh, Dad? It really does hurt you as much as it does me."

He looked at me and our eyes met. I saw the regret and pain in them. "More. Someday you'll understand why, when you have children of your own."

I came over to him. "I think I do understand. A little. I promise I'll be good from now on."

He eyed me up and down. Then he chuckled. "Harry, don't make promises you can't keep."

"But I really mean it!"

"I'm sure you do. And you'll try your best to keep your word . . . until the next time temptation crosses your path. No child can be good forever. I know that and I don't expect it from you or from your sisters. What I do expect is that you learn from your mistakes and try your best to not repeat them."

"I'll try, Dad. Really hard."

"Then that will be enough. Get in bed."

I did, careful to lie on my stomach. "Night, Dad." Then I added, "I love you," because I felt he needed to hear me say it.

"I love you too," he replied, and some of the pain vanished from his eyes. He took my glasses and placed them on my nightstand, then Noxed all the lights except the one in the hall.

I lay there for a long time, unable to fall asleep. Part of that was because of my sore bum, but most of it was because I was thinking about what I could do to make amends to those old ladies I'd hurt. I felt terrible for that, and even though it was hard to give up all those Galleons, I knew Alaina was right, and I owed it to them. I sighed heavily at the thought of how many sweets and Quidditch tickets I could have bought. Enough to last me till next Christmas.

Oh, well. Like Grandpa always said, you live and learn.

I had learned several things this Easter, things I would never forget, and someday I'd tell my children about all the trouble I got into as a kid, and hopefully they'd learn from my mistakes. But ever since then, I can't look at an Easter bonnet without smirking and wincing and recalling that one Easter of laughter and tears.

**The End**

**The next story in this series is Severus' Christmas Wish, followed by Object of Affection, and then the Fourth of July Deer. **

**I know I tend to jump about a bit chronologically with these small stories, you can blame the Muse for it, but I do try and put them in chronological order in my profile. If you get confused about them, just PM me. **

**Thanks everyone for reading. Wandamarie, hope you enjoyed this!**


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